Block Printing - Ahmedabad
Block printing is labour intensive and comprised of several stages in preparing the fabric. As the cloth contains starch and dust, it is pre-treated by dipping in water for two to three days. The cloth is stretched and spread on the ground for drying depending on the weather conditions.
On printing-table the dried cloth is spread and fixed with the help of pins. Marking is done with the help of scale and chalk the areas to be printed, spaces for cutting and stitching. Before printing on the fabric, the printing paste is spread evenly in the wooden tray and the design is stamp on the cloth. Blocks are pressed hard with the fist on the back of the handle to imprint the colour evenly from left to right side; number of colours used in the design defines the number of blocks to be used. Usually borders are printed with the large mango butta and variations of the butti designs.
Printed cloth is dried in shade, sunlight and washed in the river to fix the colours in case of pigment dyes. After drying, the printed cloth is wrapped in plastic or newspapers to avoid the colour spreading.
